Girl who gets a kick out of fighting Ben Affleck

MOVE over Lara Croft and Buffy, the latest female superhero has arrived. Leather clad and ready for action, this is Elektra - the master warrior starring alongside Ben Affleck in Daredevil, based on the exploits of a Marvel Comics character.

Actress Jennifer Garner, 30, best known to Channel 4 viewers as secret agent Sydney Bristow in Alias, is destined for the big time after landing the role.

The film, which opens in British cinemas next month, is tipped to repeat the success of recent superhero blockbusters X-Men and Spider- Man.

It tells of Daredevil's fight to rid New York's Hell's Kitchen of sundry criminals and their nefarious mastermind Kingpin. A lawyer by day, Daredevil (Affleck) has been left blind in a freak accident - which has enhanced his other senses to superheroic proportions.

In real life, of course, Affleck is dating Jennifer Lopez. But Daredevil's love interest is arguably more enticing than the notoriously stroppy diva.

Elektra Natchios is also a favourite amongst comic fans.

The daughter of a Greek tycoon, she is a deadly fighter and Daredevil's foe as well as his beloved.

Elektra has been trained by mysterious mentors in ninja martial arts and she is particularly lethal with her sai a pair of three- pronged daggers.

Garner seems to have taken the role remarkably seriously. "I was in a kind of combat mode," she said. "I really wanted to fight Ben Affleck."

The Virginia-born actress said her character "is both good and evil. She's very fierce and much more aggressive than anyone I've ever played before.

Elektra goes looking for a fight. She's a strong, confident and sexy woman who is not afraid to use her sex to throw people off guard".

Garner, who is married to actor Scott Foley, won a Golden Globe last year for her work in Alias. Her character is a CIA double agent working undercover in an insidious criminal fraternity.

Yet her espionage career is hampered - in a Buffyesque twist - by her need to juggle her essay deadlines at college. The series has become a huge success across the Atlantic and - with audiences of around 1.3 million - a cult favourite in Britain.

It has given Garner's career a massive boost - she also has a cameo as a call-girl alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, which opens in the UK later this month.

Its director Steven Spielberg says of her: "She is going to be huge."

Garner herself has said: "I never expected to find myself in this magical position. I consider myself one of the luckiest girls in Hollywood."

Only a few years ago, though, she was working as a waitress in New York.

"I was broke at the time," she has said: "I'd walk across New York rather than take the subway so I could spend the fare on pasta."

Hardly the fuel for a superhero.

Combat mode: Jennifer Garner as Elektra, left, and showing her softer side with Daredevil Ben Affleck

GIRL POWER

Xena - Warrior Princess

Look: leather and armour Enemies: the unrighteous Weapon: sword Love interest: understated relationship with sidekick Gabrielle

Lara Croft

Look: tight shorts and tank top Enemies: other tomb raiders Weapon: anything deadly Love interest: no need for a man

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Look: all-American Prom Queen Enemies: vampires, demons etc Weapon: wooden stake Love interest: Spike the vampire Girl power

Copyright 2003